Peppercomm Blogs

A Letter to the Maggie before Peppercomm

Dear Maggie,
Welcome to Peppercomm! You are now officially part of the PeppSquad. To get ready for your three – month adventure with the agency, I, or should I say you, have shared a list of the most valuable pointers specific to each sector: consumer, B2B and financial. Interestingly enough, while you came into the internship with a consumer mindset, you are leaving tomorrow invested in the financial sector. Thanks to Peppercomm, you’ve reconsidered your interests and can’t wait to explore them in your PR career path.

I hope these tips serve you well, Maggie! Peppercomm is a very special place, and I do expect you to cherish your time there.

The Consumer Branch: Pitching heavy

To best support your consumer accounts, you need to think about why the brand is selling what it is and why its products/offerings can be of importance to its audience. This means putting yourself in the shoes of your client and their target audience. For example, you will be placed on the amazing Seasons 52 account. Seasons 52 is part of Darden Restaurants, along with Olive Garden, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and others. As a “Fresh Grill + Wine Bar,” Seasons 52 differentiates itself through its healthy, seasonal ingredients. Therefore, when pitching for the restaurant, your most successful hits will be when you include new items on the menu in your invitation. You want to promote your client by explaining to their consumers why trying the, for example, brunch menu at Seasons, is such a rewarding opportunity for a food reporter.

The B2B Branch: Research heavy

Gorkana and Talkwalker are hugely important as an intern at Peppercomm! Gorkana helps to pin down the right journalists/reporters/broadcasters to pitch and Talkwalker is an even better search engine than Google. Please pay attention during intern orientation when these sites are covered – it is rare that an agency offers such an in-depth onboarding.

The Financial Branch: Organization heavy

The key to succeeding in your financial accounts is being politically and economically aware. Your biggest tasks on these accounts, EY Insurance and Raymond James, will be briefing documents and competitor analyses. Formatting is very precise and specific to each account, whether it’s bolding, spacing or wording. Make sure to ask for any previous examples, if necessary. Even more important, however, is accurate content. Do your research! You will have various questions about the insurance industry and you should ask as many as necessary. Out of every PR sector, financial will by far use the most acronyms. Here is a little preview:

SME: Subject Matter Expert (an individual who can best speak for a specific topic)

FASB: Financial Account Standards Board (U.S. accounting principles)

IoT: The Internet of Things (devices talking to devices)

I can’t wait for you to start at Peppercomm, Maggie! Maybe one day, future interns will benefit from these tips as well.